All Time World Cup!
Ronaldo 20 & 25, Romario 77; B. Laudrup 28,
PARIS – Stade de France
Already qualified, Mario Zagallo decided to rest some of his key men, but the so-called reserves were scarcely less intimidating. In came Ronaldo and Romario up front, and Ademir and Leonidas behind them. Leonidas stands as one of the first Brazilian greats, and one of the first black players to be widely heralded.
Credited as the pioneer of the bicycle kick in the 1930s (though he himself always said Petronilho invented it), Leonidas famously liked to play in bare feet, and could be more famous still had his manager not risked resting him for the semi final of the 1938 World Cup. Hosts Italy triumphed 2-1.
Perhaps keen to make amends, the so-called ‘Black Diamond’ let rip with two long range strikes in the first twenty minutes. Peter Schmeichel held on to the first, but the second rebounded off the crossbar to fall at the feet of the onrushing Ronaldo.
The Danes needed a win to progress, and tried to hit back immediately through Lerby. Djalma Santos blocked the shot and fed Ademir, who in turn sent Ronaldo clear from the halfway line. Not entirely clear, as there were still three defenders between him and the goal, but the way the young forward swept past Sivebaek and shimmied between Lars and Morten Olsen, it was as if they weren’t there. When Schmeichel rushed out, Ronaldo coolly rounded him before slotting home.
Denmark faced a stark choice: Go all-out to get back in the game, or simply look to tighten up and keep the score respectable? To their credit, they looked only to attack. A long diagonal from Liverpool’s Jan Molby was nodded down by former European footballer of the year Allan Simonsen to Frank Arnesen in the box, and his low cross was stabbed home by Brian Laudrup.
Brazil resorted keep-ball, and although the Danish exuberance and speed never faltered, they were never quite able to carve out the clear chance of an equaliser. Then, in the 77th minute, Leonidas fed little Romario with his back to goal on the edge of the box. He rolled Jan Heinze and as the rest of the defence closed in, he scooped the ball up, over them all and over Schmeichel too, who Romario had spotted was a fraction off his line – his Achilles heel. The striker was mobbed by teammates, but his attention was focused on the bench, clearly feeling he had done enough to prove he was worth a starting place.
Denmark were out, but had never been disgraced, and Schmeichel, Simonssen and the Laudrup brothers had all shown they deserved to be at football’s top table.
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